Tarts

I’ve eaten English custard tarts before and sadly wasn’t impressed by their general soggy texture and bland appearance. However, I was bowled over by the rustic looking Portuguese custard tart – though similar in name, the two are incomparable in all other domains. A family friend gave me an amazing recipe book called ‘Coffee and Bites’ by Susie Theodorou. Her recipe for these tarts is easy to follow and the custard is so delicious I now use it in other recipes. I’ve taken a few photos so pastry preparation is easier to understand.

I can confidently say Simon Hopkinson has the best pastry recipe known to man. Though it’s not the easiest to work with it makes a super crumbly tart and is well worth the occasional bout of frustration. Simon Hopkinson I salute you.

Pastry:

175g (6oz) butter

65g (2 1/2oz) icing sugar

2 egg yolks

225g (8oz) plain flour

Filling:

3 egg yolks

2 whole eggs

40g (1 1/2oz) caster sugar

150g (5oz) butter

200g (7oz) dark chocolate in pieces

Method for Pastry:

Put the butter, sugar and egg yolks in a mixer and work together quickly.

Blend in the flour and work to a homogenous paste.

Form into a ball, wrap in cling film and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4

Roll out the pastry as thinly and quickly as possible (how cool it stays makes a big difference as to whether it shrinks in the oven!)

Transfer to a greased 20.5cm (8 inch) tart tin leaving a border of pastry hanging over the edge. This stage is much easier if you roll the pastry out between 2 sheets of cling film dusted with flour – it doesn’t stick or tear and is easier to transfer.